Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Vincent Price's Birth

St. Louis is getting ready for Vincentennial, the Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration this May. Pirate Picture’s Wyatt Weed, writer/director of the St. Louis-lensed vampire opus Shadowland, shot this promo film for the event.

This is a longer version of the promo film that ran before films at the recent St. Louis International Film Festival. Vincentennial is a Film festival celebrating the career of Vincent Price in conjunction with an exhibit of Price artifacts and memorabilia and is being presented by Cinema St. Louis. Legendary director Roger Corman will be in St. Louis to kick off the event. The schedule for the film festival will announced in a couple of more weeks. Details can be found here at We Are Movie Geeks.com, the Vincentennial Facebook page (Here), and at www.vincentennial.com

The Green Hornet - Seth Rogan version

Last week, the SciFi channel showed a marathon of Green Hornet shows - the ones with Van Williams as Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato. It was fun watching a show I hadn't seen in 30 years, and yes, Lee's Kato was definitely the star of the show - we all watched it for his martial arts prowess.

I went to see Seth Rogan's Green Hornet today, and ... it was okay. I could have done without some of the language, and there were a couple of villains-after-death closeups that I could have done without...but...it was okay. And young people today are so immured to bad language...they probably wouldn't even notice it...which is both good and bad.

Anyway, it opens 20 years earlier, with Britt Reid being brought to his father's office at the Daily Sentinel. He was involved in a fight at school, but his dad won't listen to him when he says that he'd tried to help a little girl who was being bullied by some boys. His father destroys his super hero action figure.

20 years later, Britt Reid has forgotten about helping people, and is more interested in drinking and bedding women. He still lives in his father's house, but in a kind of apartment over the garage. Not quite sure how he gets his coffee, but in the morning when he wakes up there's a coffee cup by his bed with a cool flower in it in foam...

Anyway, his father dies of a bee sting, and Britt inherits the paper. For some reason Mike Axford - a crusading reporter in the actual Green Hornet stories, is here the executive editor of the whole paper, and instead of being played by an Irish actor - Axford = Irish, he's played by Edward James Olmos. That's fine, if you want Reid's second in command at the paper played by Olmos, go for it. But don't call him Mike Axford. Indeed, why not give him a Hispanic or Latino name of some kind?

Anyway, Olmos has very little to do in the movie so it's a moot point.

Reid has fired all his dad's employees from the house, so the next day he doesn't get his coffee. It is Kato, his father's chauffer, who made the coffee, so Reid hires him back. (Why Reid has never met Kato is a mystery that's never broached.) They get to talking about Britt's father, and then don masks and go out to the cemetery to vandalize his statue.

After doing this, Britt sees a couple being mugged and tries to go to the rescue, but fails. Kato intervenes and saves the day, and their dual identities as crime fighters is established.

Cameron Diaz as Lenore comes on board, she has a degree in journalism but is hired as a secretary. However, Reid uses her research skills to plot his plan as the Green Hornet. He pretends to be a villain because if he's a good guy, the bad guys will just say, "Stop messing with us or we'll kill some innocent people," but if he's a bad guy, they can't say that because he won't care about innocent people.

So it goes, and it's all right for the most part except for the ending. Of course it has to be a "spectacular" ending, so the Black Beauty is seen zooming through the halls of the Daily Sentinel. It's here that two graphic deaths take place. The initial deaths are fine, but then the camera stays on the aftermath longer than is necessary.

Cameron Diaz does a good job with what she's given. It's refreshing to see a character who doesn't fall in love with her boss - Britt tries to kiss her and she slaps him. She's the "mastermind" ...or at least she is to grow into the role.

If there's a sequel, hopefully they'll expand on that - she plots the activties of the Green Hornet and Kato, they just carry out her bidding.

Anyway, Kato is "da man" with his martial art skills. Seth Rogan is a comedian, but his acting is all right in this. His character is just an irritating one. I really liked the villain...no one ever thinks he's scary, until he's just about to shoot them. Well played by Christopher Waltz.

18-20 FEb, 2011: Mega Doctor Who Convention

From the Gallifrey 2011 website
Welcome to the website for the 2011 Gallifrey One convention, Gallifrey One's Catch 22: Islands of Mystery.

Gallifrey One is North America's largest fan-run Doctor Who event, and the longest-running annual Doctor Who convention in the world. We have tons of confirmed guests announced, great programming events, panels and other fun things to take part in at our next convention!

If you've never been with us, check out the About Gallifrey One page and our Photo Gallery from past conventions. Also, feel free join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! We also feature Online Registration for the event, and you can find out about everything from the program to our dealers room and art show, the masquerade, our autograph & photo sessions and much more here at the website. Feel free to drop us a line via email if you have questions, too!

Gallifrey 2011 Theme Days
February 8, 2011 • Categories: Program
Each of the three days of this year's Gallifrey 2011 convention will feature special themes, and we encourage everyone to be part of the fun by participating in these events:

Friday is Tropical Adventure Day! Wear your Hawaiian shirts, your board shorts, grass skirts - anything to take part in the island celebration. (Anyone visiting the convention on Friday with something tropical will receive a complementary lei to wear, too!) We encourage you to get creative, too!

Saturday is Doctor Who Costume Day. Get out your Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane costumes and wear them proudly. Scarves, brainy specs, trainers, fezzes (that's right... after all, fezzes are cool), bow ties (ditto), stalks of celery -- it's all to get into the spirit of things, and we want your Doctor Who costumes shown off all day long.

And finally, Sunday is very special... Sunday, February 20 is in fact an annual holiday in the far distant Islands of Mystery. They call it Island Awareness Day in that far off land. To show your Island Awareness, wear something special related to one of the 22 Islands of Mystery... a costume, a hat, a shirt, anything that relates to the Islands of Mystery. Need a list of the Islands? Check out the Islands page on our website.

We hope you will join us by participating in our theme days!


Here are the guests - subject to travel, weather, health, etc.
Peter Davison
Janet Fielding
Sarah SUtton
Tracie Simpson
Matthew Waterhouse
John Leeson
Frazier Hines
John Levene
Gareth Thomas
Cush Jumbo
Paul Lasey
Meill Gorton and ROb Mayor
Ian McNeice
Gareth Roberts
Philip Olivier
Sarah DOuglas
Jane Espenson
Doris Egan
Phil Ford
Joss Agnew
James Moran
Daniel Logan
Daphne Ashbrook
Virgnia Hey
Rick Sternbach
Gareth Skelding
Gary Russell
Jason-Haigh-Ellery
Clayton Hickman
Barbara Hambly
Tony Lee
Len Wein and Marv Wolfman
Mathew Dow Smith and Blair Shepp
RIchard Starkings
David Gerrold
Denton Tipton
C. Andrew Nelson
Javier Grillo-Markuach
Jose Molina
Wendy Pini
Nancy HOlder
David J. Howe
Lars Pearson and Christa Dickson
Richard Dinnick
David Wise
Lynn Marie Thomas
Robert Smith
Graeme Burk
Darin Henry
Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg
Courtland Lews
Kevin Grazier
Trina Ray
Steve Bartlett
Robert Gounley
Jim Busby
Sarah Milkovich
Bill Ernohaezy
Sam STone
Paul J. Salamoff
Audry Taylor
Aime Major Steinberger
Arne Starr
Craig Miller
Daryll Frazetti
Eric Hoffman

Band
Tanuki Suit Riot

Podcasters:
Dr. Who Podshock
Radio Free Skaro

Her Universe - tees and stuff for fans of Star Wars

http://heruniverse.com/

Expensive t-shirts - $35! - but with designs to appeal too women,and the t-shirts are fitted.

Seems to be all Star Wars designs right now...

PR: ADMIRALTY: Volume 4 of the Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson

NESFA Press is proud to announce the publication of ADMIRALTY: Volume 4 of the Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson.

See http://www.nesfa.org/press/index.html for ordering information. Price is $29

Introduction by David G. Hartwell, edited by Rick Katze; cover by John
Picacio; cover design by Alice N. S. Lewis.

Details of the book will be found at
http://www.nesfa.org/press/Books/Anderson-4.html

"Admiralty: The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson" (volume 4) continues the series of presenting the best of his fantasy and science fiction stories published over a writing career of 50 years. It includes "Admiralty", a story in the foreseeable future when man has colonies on other planets and is in conflict with an alien empire, "Goat Song", the Hugo and Nebula award winning story about a man's determination to bring his lost love back to life, "Operation Changeling", a world where magic and demons co-exist, "Delenda Est", a story of the time patrol and the choices that must be made to keep our existence intact, "The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound", co-written with Gordon R. Dickson, where the aliens are living on their own planet, a portion of which is created as Victorian England with Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes, "Marius", which shows that the only thing we learn from history is history, and the delightful “Inside Straight”, in which an understanding of poker defeats an invasion.


Table of Contents
Introduction by David G. Hartwell
Admiralty
Among Thieves
Delenda Est
Eutopia
Goat Song
Gypsy
Holmgang
Home
Horse Trader
Inside Straight
Kyrie
Lodestar
Marius
Murphy's Hall
Operation Changeling
Quixote and the Windmill
The Problem of Pain
Sister Planet
The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound
The Barrier Moment
The Bitter Bread
The Pugilist
The Star Beast
Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson won 7 Hugos and 3 Nebulas over his career. He was named "A Grand Master" by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1998.

John Picacio
John Picacio is a World Fantasy Award winner, and has also received three Chesley Awards, and six consecutive Hugo nominations.

PR: HAL LEONARD RELEASES BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SONGBOOK

Cool New Piano Solo Folio Showcases Noted Composer Bear McCreary

(MILWAUKEE) – Variety called composer Bear McCreary’s score for Battlestar Galactica – the award-winning series on the SyFy channel from 2004-2009 – “the most innovative music on TV today,” and NPR said it “fits the action so perfectly, it’s almost devastating: (it’s) a sci-fi score like no other.” Hal Leonard Corporation is proud to publish the first-ever songbook featuring the music from the series.

McCreary himself was heavily involved in the creation of this special collection, personally translating his acclaimed, world music-infused orchestral score into fantastic piano solo arrangements. The intermediate to advanced-level songbook contains 19 selections in all, and as a bonus, also simplified versions of “Roslin and Adama” and “Wander My Friends.” There is a note from the Emmy-nominated McCreary, as well as a biography.

The music from Battlestar Galactica has a rabid following. No fewer than six soundtrack albums have been released to date, all selling well and enthusiastically praised by critics. There have also been several live concerts featuring the music. In 2008, more than 1,000 fans attended two sold-out shows at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, with some fans flying in from as far as England and Australia. Last summer, McCreary conducted the world premiere performance of the Battlestar Galactica Symphony, as part of the renowned Fimucite Film Music Festival in Tenerife, Spain. A ballet based on McCreary’s scores for the series premiered in 2009, performed by the dancers of the Theaterhagen in Hagen, Germany.

McCreary comments on the Hal Leonard Battlestar Galactica songbook, “At last, fans can now be a part of the musical process themselves and experience the score as I first did: with fingertips touching the ivories.”

A must for the show’s multitude of fans, the Battlestar Galactica Piano Solo folio (HL00313530, ISBN 978-1-61780-367-3) retails for $16.99 and is available at music stores nationwide, or through Music Dispatch (www.musicdispatch.com, 800-637-2852). www.bearmccreary.com/blog

About Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary holds degrees in composition and recording arts from the prestigious Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. However, he attributes his professional training to his mentor, the late film music legend Elmer Bernstein. By the age of 24, McCreary launched into pop culture with his groundbreaking score for Battlestar Galactica. McCreary’s other composing credits include Disney’s Step Up 3D, and several hit series, including The Walking Dead, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Caprica, The Cape and Eureka. McCreary’s swashbuckling score for Human Target featured the largest orchestra ever assembled for a television series in history, and earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme.

About Hal Leonard Corporation
Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation (www.halleonard.com) is the world’s largest music print publisher, producing songbooks, sheet music, educational publications, reference books, DVDs, CD-ROMs, children’s music products and more. In its more than 200,000 available publications, the company represents in print some of the world’s best known and most respected publishers, artists, songwriters and arrangers. Hal Leonard is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and also has domestic offices in Winona, MN; New York; and Nashville; and offices abroad in Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

College of Sci Fi Knowledge Radiation Theater Quizbook

The Thunder Child is proud to announce our first book for the Kindle: The COllege of Sci Fi Knowledge, Eye Sci Fi edition (that means movies), with an emphasis on what I like to call "Radition Theater" - science fiction movies from 1950-1962 that featured giant bugs, giant women, shrinking men, and our first explorations of the universe.

The Quiz Book is profusely illustrated with stills and posters and features over 200 questions on a variety of topics

In the Beginning - identify movie from its opening lines
The Secrets of the Krell - trivia
They All Have Families - production people
A Star is Born - actors
That Was Probably Very Clever - quotes
The End? - identify a movie by its last lines.

And many more!

This Quiz Book is on Kindle - but don't despair if you don't have a Kindle. You can download - for free - an emulator for the PC (and read the book on a much larger screen which is very nice!) and on various smart phones.

And the price of this amazingly colossal book is only $1.99.

So - here's the thing to do. Make one night a week a Radiation Theater night, and watch one of these great filims - most of them are available viw Netflix, Amazon or even YouTube. In order to decide who gets to watch what - who has to make the popcorn, who has to clean up, have a contest with this quiz book, choose ten questions at randoms and whoever gets the least questions right - has to do the winner's bidding.

Below is the URL.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LX0DN6?tag=theeuropeansilen&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B004LX0DN6&adid=10CF8PZWE67PHMNEJDNA